When Life Gets Real
by RoseOfTheForest
Summary: A story about Don and Sloan after the show ends and the life I hope they have. I will be jumping around in time, but a main storyline will be throughout. There will be flashbacks to earlier times in their relationship. I do not own any of the Newsroom characters, but am just borrowing them from the extremely talented Aaron Sorkin. Please comment and add suggestions!
1. Chapter 1

Sloan looked down at the contents of the sink in front of her, the little pink plus signs jumping out against the white porcelain bowl. _F-ck_, she thought to herself. She'd drank a quart of water in the last 30 minutes, taking pregnancy tests as fast as she could, hoping that each one would have a different answer.

At Duane Reade on the way home Sloan had thought about only buying one test, but had decided to splurge for the 4-pack. _I can always use one for my next pregnancy scare_, she'd thought. Clearly, this was not a scare. She scooped up the four sticks as she exited the bathroom, throwing them into the top drawer of her nightstand as she crawled into bed, fully clothed.

Sloan buried her face in a pillow, breathing in Don's musky scent. Sloan and Don had gotten married a year ago, but Sloan was still getting used to the constant reminders of their life together. Don's coats hanging in the entryway, his toothbrush next to hers in the master bathroom, his books strewn around the apartment, and his smell had seeped into every surface of the apartment. Everything seemed to have a little bit of Don in it. Sloan touched her wedding ring, yet another reminder of Don, and reached for the TV remote, flipping on ACN. Elliot appeared on the screen, meaning Don was nowhere near on his way home. Elliot was discussing a Supreme Court decision with a pretty DC political analyst. Sloan could see Elliot's earpiece and thought of Don on the other side of it, giving Elliot directions from the control room. _Don…_ Sloan's stomach turned as she thought about telling him, she could barely even say the words in her head, _I'm pregnant_. She knew that Don would be overjoyed, he would be stunned, this wasn't exactly planned, but his shock would quickly turn into immense joy. Sloan on the other hand was terrified. The thought of another human being, one that she and Don had created, inside her at that very moment, a thing that would be a baby in 8 or so months, it all terrified her. Being a wife was a big enough change, but a mother, Sloan Sabbith as a mother?

Sloan picked up the remote switched the channel until Elliot was replaced by a cooking show. Onions were sautéing in a pan and the contestants seemed to be up against a clock. Sloan mindlessly watched the TV, her mind drifting off to Don and their life together. Should she tell him tonight or wait until the morning? He would be excited and would want to spend the rest of the night like giddy teenagers, calling their families with the good news. Sloan wasn't ready for that, the excitement or the parents. Her brain was still dealing with the fact that she was going to be a parent; that another human being was going to be completely dependent on her. Sloan rid herself of her work clothes, trading in a navy blue skirt and grey top for an old one of Don's Columbia t-shirts, and settling back into bed. She must have fallen asleep, because next she knew an arm was wrapping around her waist and warm kisses were pressing into her neck.

"Hey," she whispered, her throat a bit groggy from having dozed off.

"Hey yourself," said Don, pressing a kiss into Sloan's collarbone, his hot breath on her shoulder.

"I watched Elliot tonight, he was good," she was lying a bit, but she knew her approval meant a lot to Don.

"Yeah, I think the vacation did him some good," pressing another kiss into Sloan's shoulder, "We should take a vacation, you in a bikini for a week would definitely put me in a better mood."

Sloan flipped around so she was almost nose-to-nose with Don, gliding a lazy hand down his cheek until it stopped to rest on his chest. She looked into his grey eyes, they had had a fight over what color his eyes were and she had decided that they changed color with whatever he wore, he had remained firm that they were brown. _Would the baby have his eyes? Will it have his curly hair? His love of baseball and Root Beer? _She couldn't take being alone with this information.

"Don…"

"Yeah," he kissed her head as she rested it on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath. "What is it babe?" he asked as he tucked hair behind Sloan's ear.

"I'm pregnant," she said flatly into his chest, she could feel him stiffen.

"What?" he said pulling back.

"Please don't make me say it again…"

"Sloan, I think you just said you're pregnant, you can't just drop a bomb like that and leave it hanging."

Sloan turned over and pulled open the top drawer of her nightstand, grabbing the four pregnancy tests. "Pink plus signs mean positive," she said, handing them to Don.

He looked down at them, his mind taking a bit longer than usual to register what he was seeing.

"So you're pregnant."

"Yes."

"You're pregnant."

"Yes Don, we've established that."

Don looked down at the tests in his hand again, "You're pregnant!" he dropped the tests on the bed and pulled Sloan into a kiss. "We're gonna have a baby." His voice was a bit shaky, but clearly filled with excitement. His hand trailed down to her stomach, and he placed his hand tenderly on her abdomen.

"There's a baby inside you right now?"

"That's usually how it works."

"How…?"

"Well, when a man loves…"

"I know how _that _works. I mean how did you find out? Why didn't you tell me you thought you might be pregnant?"

"Well, you know I've been feeling nauseous all week and I was in Mac's office today while she was eating lunch and I was complaining about the smell, I really don't understand how she loves chicken salad, and she said, 'when I was pregnant I could smell any food within a mile radius.' We shared a look and I did some quick math and realized I was two weeks late. I think Mac may have figured out from the look on my face that I was possibly 'with child,' but I made some excuse and bought a pregnancy test—"

"—or four—"

"—yes, four, there was a packaged deal and you know how I love deals. Whatever, I bought them on the way home and took them a few hours ago."

"I think this is one time you have truly left me speechless Sloan."

"I doubt that…" said Sloan, running a suggestive hand across Don's stomach, nuzzling her head under his chin, Don ran a hand through her hair.

"I love you," he said. "I love you so freaking much."

"I know," responded Sloan, burying her head deeper in his chest.

Sloan knew that Don was smiling even if she couldn't see his face and she didn't know how to tell him how terrified she was. She wanted to have a baby with Don, she really did, but they didn't plan this. A baby had been a distant idea, not a reality. Sloan wasn't ready for her life to change. She was pulled back into reality by Don going on about making doctors appointments and finding replacements at ACN for when the baby was born, and decided not to burden him with her nerves.

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for reading my last chapter and continuing with the story! Comments are always appreciated. This next chapter comes one week after the last. Enjoy!_

It was a week after Don had found out Sloan was pregnant. He was shocked, but beyond excited. Remaining quiet on the situation was harder than he had expected, but Sloan had made it clear she didn't want anyone to know about the baby until they had done all the preliminary tests at the OBGYN. Don loved his wife so much it scared him sometimes and this baby was a symbol of that love. Don had never had a relationship as all consuming until he started dating Sloan. His relationship with Maggie was rocky at best, but with Sloan, they just fit together. Don's world made sense when Sloan was in it and now they were bringing new life they had created together into that world.

Don felt Sloan fidgeting in the seat next to him, her hand running over spot on her arm that the nurse had drawn blood from. They were waiting to be called back into the OB's office to hear the results and possibly have an ultrasound if the tests confirmed Sloan was pregnant (which Don hoped they did). Don knew that Sloan was nervous about the whole baby thing, he knew her well enough to know when something stressed her out, but he didn't want to press her about it, he would wait for her to come to him. He reached over and took Sloan's hand into his, bringing the back of her hand up to his lips.

"Ms. Sabbith," called a receptionist as the door to the back offices opened.

"Yes," said Sloan, rising with Don and walking to the door.

"First door on your left," said the receptionist while directing them down the hall.

They entered a small office with a large desk and three chairs, one facing the door from behind the desk and two across from that, facing the window. Sloan had never been in this room before. She'd always been directed into an exam room and talked after a quick exam was given a new prescription for contraception. She silently took one of the two seats, Don taking the other, and started taking in her surroundings. There were cute photos of babies on the wall, all squishy faced and new. Many of the photos had words of thanks written on the bottom. _Will she be one of those parents that sends out holiday cards and birth announcements? _As if he heard her silent question, Don reached over and pulled one of Sloan's tensely clenched hands into his own, resting them on the chair arm between them.

Don had never been to an OBGYN's office. He remembered Sloan mentioning her "lady doctor," but that didn't really mean much to him. Everything was a lot nicer than he expected. The waiting room had cookies (probably to keep up the blood sugar of the pregnant mothers) and most of the women were blissfully happy, tenderly rubbing their pregnant bellies. A woman asked him how far along Sloan was and upon hearing it was their first appointment, she burst into telling him the whole story of her first pregnancy (in much more detail than he would have liked). Sloan had been unusually quiet the past week. Don knew she was nervous, she hated surprises and was not the most flexible when it came to change, but he wasn't a big fan of this detached Sloan. She had stopped barging into his office at ACN (which he usually gave her a hard time for, but not so secretly loved when she came in to chat or argue) and had been getting up and going into the office at an even more ungodly hour than usual. She was avoiding him and he knew it. He was over the moon about the pregnancy, but since Sloan had told him they had spent only quiet nights sleeping next to each other, one painfully silent dinner, and of course bustling days at ACN, but really Don wanted Sloan to open up to him and be honest about how anxious she was. There was a knock at the door, taking Don out of his thoughts, and a tall woman in her mid 50s entered the small office.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sabbith?"

"She's Sabbith, I'm Keefer," said Don, gesturing between them.

"Oh, so sorry! Ms. Sabbith, Mr. Keefer, I'm Dr. Lohr." She introduced herself and exchanged handshakes with both Don and Sloan.

"No problem," said Sloan, glaring at Don for his pushy display of feminism (although she really did admire it).

Dr. Lohr took a seat behind the desk and opened the file she was brought into the room.

"So congratulations, we got the results of your blood test and they do confirm that you're pregnant."

Sloan let out a breath and Don's hand tightened around hers.

"Ok, so where do we go from here? Like, how old is it?" she asked.

"You mean how far along are you?" corrected Dr. Lohr.

"Yeah that."

"Your hormones levels are measuring around eight weeks, but we'll need to do an ultrasound to confirm."

"Eight weeks?" said Don, "Eight weeks? Woah, eight weeks."

"I'm not getting from you guys that this pregnancy was completely planned. As your doctor I want to let you know that you do have options and I will be here for you whatever you decide."

Sloan looked over at Don and he looked shocked, but had a stupid grin on his face. "Why don't we do an ultrasound?" she said.

"Alright," Dr. Lohr motioned to a door on her left that both Don and Sloan had not noticed. As they got up, Don protectively put a hand on the small of Sloan's back.

"Here's a gown, you can undress from the waist down behind that curtain." Dr. Lohr handed Sloan the folded gown and pointed to the corner.

Sloan suddenly realized that she was self-conscious about her body and was thankful for the privacy of the curtain. She didn't want Don scrutinizing her, looking for any hint of pregnancy or trying to memorize her what would now be called her "pre-pregnancy" body.

"There," said Dr. Lohr, "That's it, that's the baby."

Sloan was on the medical table, Don standing next it, holding her hand. They were both staring intently at the ultrasound screen, a fluttering orb had just appeared on the screen. Dr. Lohr pushed another button on the ultrasound machine and a sound similar to a musically inclined subway filled the room.

"That's the heartbeat, everything looks great" said Dr. Lohr.

"Wow," responded Sloan, dumbfounded.

"Wow," repeated Don, "We made that."

Sloan shot Don a dirty look, but she agreed that there was something magical about the fact they had made this beating orb.

Don kissed Sloan's head, "I love you."

"I love you too."

_Next I haven't decided if I want to flashback or keep going in a linear path. I know where the story is going, but I'll see what come out when I sit down to write. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the long wait, but thanks everyone who has read and kept reading. Things got super hectic! Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner, but this one is a bit longer. Hope it was work the wait!_

_18 months before last two chapters. Post series. _

Sloan's knee was jumping up and down uncontrollably, Don put his hand on her thigh to quiet the tapping.

"What?" She asked.

"You're nervous," he responded.

"Of course I'm nervous, I'm meeting your parents. Do ya know how many parents I've met? _Don stared back blankly_ Yours are going to be the second Don and the first didn't end well."

"What do you mean didn't end well?"

Sloan shot Don a look, "It didn't end well as in the relationship didn't end well, Don. And so far I like how it's working with us."

They were sitting in Don's office at ACN and Sloan had been on edge all day. Everything that usually calmed her, the financial reports, her Bloomberg terminal, witty banter with Don; it all reminder her that in a few short hours she would be breaking bread with the Keefer family and would have to pretend to be a more "normal" person than she was. Alice and Ben—Don's parents—were coming in from Philadelphia and according to Don were "dying" to meet Sloan.

'So how much do they know about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do they know that I sleep over? Or are they no sex before marriage type of people? Like how serious are we?"

"Babe, I think you're asking different questions there, but I guess I'll dive right in… Yes they know you sleep over, yes they're ok with sex, although I wouldn't advertise our sex life, my mom is still under the impression that I'm twelve, so we just don't want to giver her a mental image. In terms of seriousness, well… they want to meet you, so that's something serious to them and me. Ok?" Don was trying his best to avoid labeling their relationship, knowing that labels made Sloan nervous, but he really was in love with her. They hadn't said it out loud yet, but Don knew he felt it and thought Sloan did too.

"I'll come by your office when I'm ready to go," he said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Alright," said Sloan with a gulp.

Don helped Sloan out of the cab on Amsterdam. Sloan had been ready, physically and work wise, when Don had come to her office when it was time to leave. Mentally, she was still wary.

"Sarabeth's is my mom's favorite place."

"Yeah, it's a good one," nodded Sloan.

Don, wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her into the restaurant. Sloan wasn't sure how to act. She hated when people said she wasn't lady like—_what the hell does that even mean? F gender stereotypes—_but regardless, she wanted Don's parents to like her. She really liked Don, so much it scared her. She'd roll over in bed in the morning and see him and it would actually hurt. Most people would call that love, but the thought scared her. Love meant the possibility of getting hurt, and that scared her more than anything.

Don opened the door, leaning in to whisper in Sloan's ear, "Don't worry, be yourself and they'll see what I see." Don spotted his parents at a back table and smiled towards them, his mother smiled back.

"Hey Mom, Dad!" Don said as they approached the table.

"Hi sweetie," Alice said, standing up and giving her son and hug and kiss on the cheek. "Oh, it's been too long," she said, pulling back.

"It's been three weeks Mom, its not like I can move back in with you."

Alice gave Don a defeated look, although looked like she would be quite happy if her son moved back home.

"Hey!"

"Hey DeDe!" Ben pulled Don into a hug as well.

Sloan hadn't known they were such a huggy family and _DeDe_, what kind of nickname was that? Don seemed to have read Sloan's thoughts and gave her a red-faced look.

"So, Mom, Dad, this is Sloan Sabbith."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Sloan said, offering her hand.

Alice ignored the hand and pulled Sloan into a hug, "Lovely to meet you darlin', Don has told us so much about you!"

"Has he now…" Sloan said.

Ben offered his hand, "Nice to finally meet you. Let's sit," he motioned to the vacant seats.

"So," said Alice, "I've been watching you on ACN for a few years now, so when Donny said you two had started dating I was very impressed. I always raised my son to respect powerful women and nothing makes me prouder than the fact that he's dating one."

"Uh, thank you. That's actually one of the nicest things anyone's ever said," Sloan was a bit taken aback and many of her nerves had immediately dissipated.

"Ooooh, no, I mean it. There's no way a son of mine wasn't going to be a feminist, when I struggled all those years to get tenured. A man's world I tell ya. When Don was born I said, 'the greatest thing I can do for my son is raise him to be an advocate for all people.' And I guess I got my wish, 'cause here's Don the Journalist, changing the world one story at a time."

"Technically I'm a Producer, but I'll take Journalist just for you Mom." Don gave Sloan a sheepish grin.

Sloan was surprised by Don's family. She thought someone as cynical and dry as Don would have to come from a family equally as cynical or worse. The Keefers on the other hand were so sweet and normal. They reminded Sloan of the family she had wanted as a kid. Alice was a tenured English professor at Swarthmore and had battled the department for years in an effort to recruit a more diverse faculty. Ben was an engineer, working with the city to keep historical buildings structurally sound. They were both educated, warm, normal people who seemed exceptionally proud of their son and very excited to get to know her. And not just her as Don's girlfriend, but the real her. They seemed to like her intensity and her ability to push back against Don, not letting him win all the time. Mainly, she was in shock, they were not what she had pictured. But luckily, most of her fears about meeting them were gone by the time dessert had come out.

"… so the nickname DeDe came from Don's older sister Annie who was learning the alphabet when Don was born and only knew the first letter of his name, so would go around pointing at him and saying 'DeDe!' and by the time his younger sister Tessa was born, the name was still there and she started calling him DeDe too. It just stuck."

"It's embarrassing now though. Being in my thirties and still having the nickname DeDe." Don shook his head.

Sloan laughed, "No, it's sweet! I don't have a nickname in my family. It just wasn't something we did." Sloan took another bite of tart. "But Don, why have you never mentioned Annie before? What's she up to, are you jealous of her big accomplishments? I know Tessa is in Atlanta working for the CDC, so she's no screw up."

The whole table got quiet. Ben looked quizzically at Don who was staring intently at his plate, playing with his tart. His eyes shot up to look at his mother across the table, then back at the tart, dropping the fork and turning towards Sloan. Don had a look in his eyes that she had never seen, somehow he looked older and younger at the same time. He looked raw. As though, all the dryness, and cynicism, and walls around him were gone. He looked _vulnerable._

"Annie died when I was in middle school," he said flatly. "She committed suicide."

Sloan blinked. She didn't now what to say. How could Don not have told her? He'd talked about Tessa before and how proud he was of her. How could he leave out an entire sister? Sloan looked over at Alice and Ben; they looked a bit teary, but much in the same way as all older people do when they remember the past.

"I'm so sorry, " said Sloan. "I didn't know."

"It's fine," muttered Don, standing up. "I'm gonna go use the bathroom."

"Don…" Sloan tried to put a consoling hand on his arm, but he kept walking.

"Don't worry, it's not you. He never talks about her," said Alice.

Ben put his hand on top of Alice's; "He's the one who found her in her bedroom. I'd sent him up to make sure she was getting ready for school. If I'd known… well, if we'd known a lot, things would have been different. She was having problems at school, normal teenage drama, but when you don't say anything it can feel like you're the only one."

"She and Don were really close," continued Alice. "It was really a gift that they were such great friends, I wish they'd had each other longer. He's never really been the same after she died. Always putting up walls, deflecting with humor, keeping different parts of his life private. I know he feels responsible in some way, but I don't see how. We tried for so many years to get him to talk to us, but at a certain point, no matter how difficult it was, we all needed to move forward. But we were so happy when he told us about you! You're the first girlfriend in a while that he told us about, and the only others we had met were his college girlfriends when we came to campus to visit. When he was down in Philly last he suggested this trip so we could meet you. I don't think you know how big that is. He really really likes you."

"He suggested you come up? He told me you pushed to come. That sneak."

Ben laughed, "That's Don for ya. But he's a special guy and I think you can see that. It may take him a bit to open up, but if you give him a little time, there's nothing he won't do for the people he loves. After Annie, I think he's been scared to get close to people."

Sloan could see Don coming back from the bathroom and it hurt, "Yeah, I know. He's a really good guy."

Don and Sloan had just dropped Alice and Ben off at their hotel, a nice place off Union Square.

"They liked you," said Don, wrapping his arm around Sloan's back as they walked toward his West Village apartment. "I'm sorry for all the questions and stuff, I know you don't enjoy divulging personal information to strangers."

"Nah, it's fine. They just care about you."

"Yeah, you couldn't accuse them of not caring."

She laughed, "You're lucky. They weren't what I expected. They were much more normal. I mean they were interesting and all, but they were happy."

"You thought they wouldn't be happy?"

"No, I thought they'd be happy. I was just expecting two people exactly like you and I that wasn't what I got. But they're really really nice and I like them too. I'm glad you asked them to come."

Don shot her a tentative look, "They told you that?"

"Yup, busted."

They walked in silence for a bit.

"I'm sorry for the whole thing about my sister, I just…"

"It's alright," Sloan slowed their pace until they were stopped. "Don't feel like you have to keep stuff from me, ok?" _Don gave her a look._ "I know I'm the last one to talk about sharing feelings, but I want you to know that I'm… available."

"You're available."

Sloan could hear the mocking tone in his voice, she took a breath, "Don," it hurt, "I love you and I want to be there for you because I can see that you're a good guy and I want to help you see what I see."

Don looked back at her, a bit stunned. He blinked. Then smiled.

"I love you too."

_Thoughts? Comments? It's something I always thought about when thinking about Don's past. I'll eventually do a Sloan one too. But I think the next chapter will be back to pregnant Sloan._


End file.
